


Mer of the Frozen Sea

by Xeriden



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mer freeform, Multi, Tags Subject to Change, The Lions of Voltron freeform, Though based off actual types of mermaids, mermaid lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-09-14 01:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16903242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xeriden/pseuds/Xeriden
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission for the Blade. Keith was supposed to met up with Pidge in the riverside city of Balmera and figure out why the Galra Empire had taken a sudden interest in the lands in and surrounding the Great Diabozal Bayou.Well, actually that did happen. They found the, person, behind the increase of Galra activity. There was just one teeny, tiny problem that Keithmighthave caused. Possibly.But in his defense, Mer mating rituals arenotcovered in basic Blade training.





	1. Forced Migration

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Dreaming Dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13755324) by [Pterodotyl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pterodotyl/pseuds/Pterodotyl). 



> So I've read my fair share of Voltron fics and I decided that it was time to put my own fics out here. I want to give a special thanks to Pterodoytl whose amazing fic _The Dreaming Dark_ gave me the inspiration and motivation to make this. If you haven't read their fic yet, then what are you doing here?!
> 
> Btw, this fic isn't betad so please forgive any typos or grammatical errors. I did my best. Enjoy.
> 
> P.S. Season 8 was decent as an end to the series, even if I was a little disappointed. Regardless, that's not what this is about, SO. Haters and angry Klancers go sit in the corner cause I'm not gonna deal with all that on here.

The silence of the murky depths surrounded him like a cool blanket, disturbed only by the gentle swaying ministrations of his body as he ascended from the deep. Blackness that had never felt the touch of light slowly gave way, bit by bit, to the softening glow that stretched down towards him in a wide and welcoming embrace of warmth. As the waters around him came to life in hazy mists of blue that swirled about in the pull of crossing currents, so too did his shape begin to take form.

Dark azure scales caught the growing light, pulling it closer to his body in a soft halo that contrasted with his tanned skin in such a way as to give the Mer a naturally radiant aura. Twin spiny dorsal fins grew out of his body, beginning from the tips of his shoulder blades closet to his neck. They protruded from him in gentle arching curves; following the gentle curve of bone to where it dipped back below his skin before continuing on past, running parallel with his spine till they reached the spot where his waist melted into the scaled form of his tail. A thin, veiny and almost translucent membrane filled the gap between each spiny protrusion, allowing the entirety of each fin to move as one. Fanning out, then back in, in a slow rhythmic sway. Beginning just above the point where skin and scales met, large and thick pelvic fins sprouted out of either side of his waist and flowed down the length of his tail before gradually shrinking back into it about halfway down. The membrane of these fins was much thicker and had an elastic quality, allowing the spines of the fin to move in a wave like motion rather than being limited to only a synchronized push and pull. The membrane was thick enough for a single layer of scales to grow along it branching out in random patterns from where the fins met his tail. His tail gradually decreased in size at this point before suddenly seeming to grow into a thick spearhead shaped caudal fin that was only differentiated from his actual tail by the rows of scales that grew along it. Each row half the size of the previous, that gave way to grey-white skin. His partially scaled arms floated alongside him each one equipped with a clawed, webbed hand. Two pairs of gills opened and closed with his movements, small fluttering muscles pulled water into them and filtered the oxygen in it into his bloodstream before pushing it back out. The first pair sit along his ribs, three slits on each side nestled between the rows of bone, and primarily circulated oxygen throughout his tail and lower body. While the second pair on his neck, consisted of only two slits on each side, focused on the rest. Brown locks swayed in the water around his head, framing an angular face with faintly glowing eyes that reflected the depths from which he swam out of.

Pointed ears shift every few moments listening for any calls or sounds that might have been carried on the currents that flowed past but he could hear nothing. Casting his gaze around the almost endless expanse of blue that opened before him, he was content to find that he truly was alone for the time being. Rather than being ignored by the deep dwelling creatures who saw him as death, and only, death.

It had been ages since he’d dared venture up to where the light grazed the edges of the depths, and longer still since he’d traveled beyond that and into waters that glowed same the dull golden-yellow around him as they soaked in the brunt of the sun’s rays. It was a beautiful sight, watching the various shades and hues of the water mix into an almost teal glow. The water itself was warm, no it was beyond warm, it was broiling. It seared his skin with each lazy, yet ever increasingly urgent, movement as he continued to swim ever higher. Ever closer to that warmth he could no longer feel in the marrow of his bones.

No.

That was a lie. Well, a partial one. It wasn’t that he couldn’t feel it. He’d just spent too much time trying, too much time giving, only to be turned away. Rejected. Because he could never fulfil the other half of the bond. If it was there one day, it would disappear by the next. A glow that dulled as each day passed until it faded completely. A half of a duet that fell out of key, breaking apart note by note. Gifts that crumpled, corroded, and rotted only hours after being given.

A kiss where the other’s eyes stayed opened.

It was maddening to a point that seemed almost too cruel, and yet, he here was. Nursing another crack in his already fractured heart. One more Mer in the sea, plenty more to choose from. But out of all the relationships he’d had in the past this one hurt the most, because out of all the others, this one had lasted for so long. Had it lasted a bit longer….

He shook the thought from his head as quickly as it had come. Thinking about it didn’t help, it didn’t stop him from feeling another cold chill shudder through his body. It wouldn’t thaw the ice that had closed off his heart, Forcing the pieces to remain in a forgotten shape. There really was no point in dwelling on it now. It was over, that had been made abundantly clear. Might as well move on and enjoy the warmth of the sun while he was this close to it. 

He pulled back in surprise realizing that he was far closer than he’d meant to get. Only a tail length away, lay the boundary between the ocean and the sky. He stared through the glassy barrier watching the clouds above lazy crawl across his vision. It brought back bittersweet memories that had been locked deep in the back of his mind. Days of laughter and joy, splashing about in shallower waters with his family, watching the younger ones as the sun slowly dried the water that had clung to him like a second skin. A small smile stretched across his lips at the thought, the cold seemed to shy away from the swell of emotions that filled him. The burn from the sun didn’t seem as harsh as the phantom touches and smells that drifted over his senses, his eye lids drooping as one hand stretched out above him. It was so close, right there in front of him. His fingers brushed the edge, ripples rolling away from them as if encouraging him to move forward, to let him feel the air’s kiss one more time. To drown out all his fears, to forget the smell of-

**Blood.**

**Screams to flee as the water erupted around them. Burning flesh filling his lungs as the roar of monsters flew overhead. Smoke over taking the sky painting it black while streams of violet cut through, bringing more destruction raining down. Waves of molten fire tossed about in a hurricane’s fury, swallowing up everything in its path. Its thirst unquenchable. The desire to consume overpowering. All of it was gone, gone, Gone, Gone, GONE, GONE GONE GONEGONEGONEGONEGONEGONEOGONEOGNEOGNEOGN--**

His eyes flew open in a panic. Muscles moved on their own as fear sunk into the pit of his stomach and with a powerful swipe of his tail he was rocketing away from the ocean’s surface. Fins flared out in warning, markings came to life along the contours of his body glowing an ominous ice blue. Lips pulled back in a feral snarl as sharp predatory teeth gnashed together. His claws cut through the water as he rightened himself, eyes hunting for the source of danger.

He couldn’t find them, couldn’t see them, where were they?! Where were the others? Why was he alone?

He curled in on himself, tail coiling around him ready to launch his body forward, whether to run away or to lunge for the kill it didn’t matter. As he spun around slowly, only the empty expanse of the ocean greeted his wary eyes and little by little his heart calmed from the frantic pace it had set. His fins settled back down, the markings on his body dimmed and faded away. While the cold settled over him once more. It weighed down his limbs as he took bitter solace in remembering where he was. He took in a deep breath to try and shake off the last traces of fear in him when he caught it again. The smell of blood. A lot of blood.

Opening his mouth wide, he pulled in a fresh wave of water pushing it down his throat and through his gills. It tasted horrible, the blood was not fresh at all. Yet for how old it was it should have already dissolved into the water. Not only that, the amount of blood was strange as well. The would have to be a whale carcass nearby, perhaps two, to warrant the sheer volume that saturated the currents swirling past. The fact he was alone in open waters no longer brought a sense of safety.

He followed the trail of blood towards it origin, gracefully flowing with the rapid undertows like he was part of the very water itself. It didn’t take him long to find the source, in fact he saw the crimson cloud from miles away. It turned the very ocean into an ugly splotch of death as the smell of rotten flesh flittered into his gills. He dove deeper as his predatory instincts kicked. As he got closer he spotted movement within the fringes of the blood. Sharks dove in and out thrown into a vicious frenzy at the prospect of free food,  
yet their movements felt off.

His eyes narrowed when he realized why. They weren’t actually entering the depths of the blood cloud, just skirting the edge for tidbits from whatever was currently feasting. Taking another deep through his mouth and fighting the involuntary reflex to gag on so much rotten blood, he managed to pick out the taste of fresh underlying the stench of the old. As well as the taste metal and a creature that made his fins stand on end.

A low aggressive trill rumbled in the back of his throat before he swam straight into the frenzy.

The sharks that swam around in the blood rushed to give him space, fleeing on a deep set primal instinct. Their haste added to the confusion of the water, masking his approach. Vibrations echoed throughout the water as he drew closer to the center of the blood bath. Suddenly, the density of the blood thinned and he was granted a front row seat to the carnage.

Chunks of flesh were tossed about in the current created by a long serpentine body. Strange figures fought desperately against the very same current, using long instruments to shot metal spears. Or rather harpoons, as he caught sight of the hooked metal sinking into one of the fins on the orange scaled body. The one who fired at it was consumed a moment later by the juvenile Baku as its maw appeared out of the gloom from behind. He noticed the sea dragon had a metal collar inscribed with purple runes that gave off a malicious aura of ancient magic. The color sent chills racing up and down his spine as they were vaguely familiar but he couldn’t quite figure out why.

His attention was quickly pulled back to the present when he caught sight of two particular figures. One was an odd looking member of what he thought was maybe a Mer that lived close to the land, due to its webbed feet and hands plus the large dolphin like dorsal fin that protruded from its back. The other was a human, or at least from what he could tell from this distance. The only real noticeable features about the man was a tuff of white hair sprouting out of a mop of black, an odd piece of metal fastened to his face, and he was far stronger than his appearance hinted at. Both were dressed in identical faded articles of cloth that barely passed for proper aquatic armor and they were desperately fighting over what looked like another harpoon. So caught up in trying to overpower the other neither one saw the Baku baring down on them till it was almost too late.

The man let go of the harpoon and used his startled opponent as a spring board to swim out of the way. The Mer was not so lucky. Only a small, cut off cry gave any indication that he saw his fate before death closed around him. It looked as if the human was the last one now, and the Baku began to circle. That’s when more vibrations rumbled through the water, coming from the surface.

Following the sound, he gaped in horror to see several ships floating above. Glass was implanted in the hull of the ships and beyond that shapes moved. It didn’t take a genius to realize that this was some kind of sick show for entertainment. 

The ice that filled his veins at the realization of what was happening numbed him to the core. Of course this would be a show. Just as it had been with his kind, forcing them to dive into the abyss where the darkness curled around them. Crushing those who couldn’t adapt, freezing others who needed the warmth from above. His family had been part of those unfortunate few who needed that warmth.

They had stayed to close to surface, swimming up at sun rise to soak up as much warmth as the could before diving back down. They stayed too long once. A few extra ticks because he just had to grab that piece of red coral. That was all it took. 

He lost every single one of them.

He wasn’t going to stand for this. Not again.

He dove fast, keeping a close watch on the fighting with one eye over his shoulder. For the moment white hair was ignored by the Baku as it struck a large shark that had wander too close looking for an easy meal. It wouldn’t last for long. He could see one or two other figures swimming away from the sea dragon but they had gotten far enough away that its next target would still be white hair.

He spun about in the water once he’d reached the edge of the blood cloud, eyes gauging the distance between him and the Baku. He ground his teeth together in frustration, he needed to hurry and form a decent plan. Even as young as it was, the sea dragon had the advantage of size against him and he was not deep enough to build up enough speed to deal a deadly enough blow to kill it. The Baku was circling closer to its prey and if he didn’t kill it in the first strike, then he would end up as just another meal. 

His fins twitch at the subtle brush of a body swimming past. His gaze flickered from his target to the sharks that were gathering around him, their movements slow and calculated. It unnerved him a bit. They should still be in a frenzy from all the blood, even if it was stale and rotten. 

Then he felt it. A calming presence flowing into him, rolling over the cold in his body like a mother’s hand as it brushed away his fears. A rumbling purr echoed in the back of his mind, nudging him forward. He could feel the timeless strength flowing into him, his sight sharpening allowing him to see the Baku make its last turn before it faced the human dead on. Her anger rumbled alongside his own growl as he lashed out with his tail propelling himself upwards. The water churned into a whirlpool of fury as he spun about faster and faster as he rocketed forward. She whispered words of power that barely registered in his mind as his focus narrowed to the charging sea dragon, its mouth open wide, body stretch out exposing a sliver of its neck that the collar didn’t protect, confident that nothing would dare attack it from below.

In the ocean’s waters, that could be a fatal mistake.

His aim was dead on as his teeth sunk deep into the young Baku’s neck, its scales crumbling underneath his jaws and the metallic taste of the fresh green blood filling his mouth. The force of his impact broke the Baku’s momentum and it listed to the side, a roar of pain resonating into the ocean. He began tearing at the wound he had just created, claws and teeth digging in and forcing the scaled flesh to fall away in pieces. His tail flailed as he struggled to hang on to the thrashing beast.

He was nearly thrown off when the Baku was struck by another. Glancing to the side, he saw one of the sharks from earlier swim past, a large bloodied chunk of orange flesh trapped in its jaws. Pushing off the sea dragon with a slap of his tail against the wound he made, he watched in morbid fascination as sharks appeared from every direction. They burst out of the blood cloud like spears cutting through the air, striking the Baku’s body wherever their small jaws could reach. Their hesitance from before had disappeared, now that the predator had been reduced to prey.

With a war like trill and a grin on his face he dove back into the feeding frenzy, this time aiming for the top of the sea dragon’s head. He slammed into it hard, the noise of the impact ringing dully in his ears. His tail brushed against the Baku’s mane wildly as its head swung from side to side, jaws snapping in vicious determination. He sunk his claws as deep as he could into its scalp, wrenching his tail out of reach by mere inches.

Unable to hang on for long he was bucked off by a particularly sharp shake of its head, and went tumbling into the cloud of dark green and red that mixed together in a dizzying checkered swirl. Thankfully all the blood masked his frantic movements and the Baku mistook another for him, tearing the unfortunate shark quite literally in half. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure of his surroundings as the dense and murky water clouded his vison and he was knocked aside by the Baku’s tail when it appeared from above. The force of the hit had black spots dancing across his eyes.

An annoyed growl rumbled deep in his throat as he recovered and swam away from the area he assumed the sea dragon was at, considering the way the water churned like it was caught in the midst of storm. Wincing at how much his body stung and protested against any form of movement, he scanned the water for a flash of orange that wasn’t right by a maw of teeth or attached to the spade-like tail fin. Another blow from either end would leave him sleeping with the fishes.

……

Pun intended.

However, before he could find an opening, a rush of frantic movements to his right caught his attention. White hair was thrashing in a panic to get to the surface, he didn’t see the shark that was barreling at him. Without a second thought he went hurtling towards the frantic human hoping he’d reach him first. White hair’s gaze locked on to him, eyes widening dramatically in fear. With a jerk his arms flailed in an attempt to back away from the oncoming Mer only for his right arm to be caught between the jaws of the shark. He was pulled forward by the shark’s momentum for a few beats of its tail before it severed the limb from his body with a second bite.

The human stared at the bleeding stump with an almost dumbfound expression, like his brain was unable to comprehend what had just happened. He reached him a moment later twisting behind the unmoving man, wrapping an arm under his left arm and around his rather well defined chest, for a human. Then with a powerful kick of his tail they were both rocketing towards the surface. Though he was against the idea of handing the guy back to the ones who’d put him in this place to begin with, he knew that if he stayed in the ocean he’d either bleed to death or be eaten.

Skimming just below the water’s surface he pulled the limp man over towards the closest ship pausing just before he reached it, when he realized he didn’t have a way to get said human up to the ships deck. He racked his brain for any decent idea that preferably kept him in the water, while his gaze traveled across the seamlessly smooth sides of the ship. It was a lot bigger than he originally thought and the more he looked at its shadow form, backlit by the sun, he felt a fresh wave of dread seep into him. A memory tugged at the back of his mind, one he struggled to push down. He had the distinct feeling he’d seen the unique blend of grey and violet that covered the ship.

Shaking the thought away quickly, he berated himself for even thinking such a thing. He needed to focus on the man in his arms in the present, not the memories of race that destroyed his home and family. With new resolve he spun in the water and began to swim down the length of the ship, hoping to see a portion of the deck that was low enough for him to maybe jump up to.

Or so he was until pain overrode his senses as an unknown amount of force slammed into his gut. Something gripped tightly to his body, pulling him harshly against whatever had hit him, before it just disappeared. Wrenched off him like a second skin and a whole new pressure surrounded him as he reached a point where he felt, suspended.

It was when he felt a gradual growing tug pulling him down and heard the sound of water falling back onto itself in sheets that it clicked. He’d breached the surface.

His fall was a short one, so short in fact he’d barely blinked before his right shoulder was painfully jarred into his cheek as the rest of his body caught up to him and he bounced along the rough surface, landing on his back in a heap. His vision swam with too many colors that fought to be identified over the howling drone that rang in his ears. His skin and scales burned anew under the intense glare that pressed down on him like a blanket, the heat suffocating him further as his gills helplessly flutter open reaching for that which was no longer there. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the kaleidoscope of lights pushed harshly against the flimsy shade his thin eyelids provided. His eyes twitched violently for a moment before a stinging pain spread through them as a second membrane slid across, dampening the harsh glow. He relaxed the tiniest bit at the sudden relief and his jaw unclenched with the motion, letting air flow inside his body. As one the gills on his neck and sides slipped back in letting the skin that surrounded the openings fold over them in a tight seal. His chest expanded with a searing ache as long forgotten and unused parts of his lungs were forced to fill themselves up to nearly breaking. It rushed through his throat in a burning wheeze as he pushed the air back out before sucking in another greedy lung full. Each breathe grounded him pulling his confused mind back to the present and to the realization that he had been knocked out of the water.

Wincing against the sun’s glare, he slowly pried his eyelids apart and held them open as the blur of colors began to redefine themselves into recognizable shapes. Heavy greys became the metal plating of the ship, marred with similar purple calligraphy as the Baku’s collar. The bright blue that loomed over everything yet seemed beyond the realm of touch became a cloudless sky. While next to him a dull triad of colors sharpened into the shocked postures of the many figures that had surrounded his prone form.

With a painful lurch, the air in his lungs caught in the cavern of his throat as disbelief and fear swirled in his gut.

Blue-grey skin and violet tuffs of fur peaked out of crisp, form fitting armor. Clawed hands were wrapped around riffles, the barrels shakily pointed at where he lay frozen. A few had traces of pale faded scars on their bodies. Standing out on their hands, face, and necks like badges of honor. A small, overshadowed part of his mind took note of the fact that, over the passage of time, their kind had moved passed the heavily reptilian look, more so resembling felines now.

However, the eyes, their eyes. They pinned him in place down to his very soul. Rings of gold swirled around vertical slits for a pupil. They held the same hard edge as the ones he’d looked into that day as the body of his friends and relatives lay strewn about in blood soaked nets. He’d watched, numb, as they crinkled along the edges to match the sinister grin that had spread out over their face. How they glinted with mirth at all the death, seeing only their might during conquest, one fist raised over their chest in salute.

Vrepit sa!

The images and sounds of repressed memories broke free of the lock and flooded his mind.

Vrepit sa!

Vrepit sa!

It only last a few sparse seconds, but to his drowning rationality it lasted for weeks, months, years, it wouldn’t stop. The chanting, the raising of spears; the condensing, predatory glares that pierced deeper than the blade. 

Vrepit sa!

VREPIT SA!

VREPIT SA!

The empty, lifeless gazes of the children who survived, bound and enslaved. The ones he promised to save. The ones he failed.

**VREPIT SA!**

**VREPIT –**

 

**[snap]**

 

Like the slowly melting face of a glacier that protruded out over the calm ocean on a warm summer’s day, the strain from the memories had become too much and his rationality cracked like ice in a jagged line. Just as the chunk of frost would tumble part way down, slamming into the still waters below it with a fury that whipped the water into a vortex of emotions as the offending mass was sucked into the briny deep that had remained hidden under the surface, so to was his sanity consumed by his nightmares.

The disturbed waters of his heart roared through his veins in a tidal wave of liquid fire, burning away the numbing cold that had plagued him for so long, only to replace it with a layer of ice that burned him from the inside. A sound beyond feral ripped free of his abused lungs and, with a speed that would have startled himself had he the mind, he flipped onto his stomach, dug his claws deep into the deck of the ship and threw all his weight into a deadly swing. His tail followed the movement with whip like proficiency catching the three closest Galra and sending them overboard with a sickening slap of flesh meeting flesh. Silence filled the void behind the attack, like the very air itself was holding its breath in anticipation.

Then all hell broke loose as orders he didn’t understand were bellowed over the din of running footsteps and panicked shouts.

A few shots rang out, whizzing past his head with high pitched whines. His eyes locked onto the Galra that rushed to put some distance between themselves and him, but kept close enough to intimidate him with the accuracy of their shots. With a growl he displayed his unrealistic agility despite his size by lunging directly for them teeth snapping and claws outstretched. One dove to the side while another backpedaled with an undignified yelp as he crashed between them. Rolling with the momentum his whole body twisted and pulled as his tail lashed about like thing possessed. With each swipe of the scaled mass of muscle a Galra was either biting the deck because they were just quick enough to dodge or they were sent flying through the air as a lifeless ragdoll.

A volley of gunfire peppered his rear and the deck around him as more soldiers appeared and grouped together to fight back. He gave the group a sideways glare as he briefly shielded himself, tail raised in front of him, letting them draw closer with each wave of bullets. Once their confidence got the better of them he struck.

The end of his tail slapped into the ground while the rest bowed and pulled him along its length, fins pulled flush with his body while throwing his torso with all the strength his wrath filled body possessed into a single arching backflip. He watched with malicious glee as the group of Galra’s faces shifted from confident smirks to unfiltered fear as he loomed above them. With thunderous crack he slammed into their midst, the harsh vibrations from the impact wracked his body with a burning sting as he felt bone, flesh, and even the deck give way under his weight.

Cries of rage reached his ears as he snapped his gaze forward to see more Galra rushing towards him. Lips twisting into a snarl, he pushed himself off the deck and into an upright position. The muscles at his waist contracting alongside the downward push of his pelvic fins as the tips of the spines dug into the deck as a brace. Arms outstretched on either side, clawed fingers slightly curled, dorsal fins flared out to their fullest extent, the end of his tail waving just enough to show that he could still lash out with it. 

The Galra hesitated for a split second at the sudden change, their eyes filled with disbelief at his posture. After all, most Mers couldn’t sit up like this since their spines couldn’t bend that far back due to their genetics.

But then again… He wasn’t a normal Mer either.

Drawing in a lungful of air that puffed out his chest, he felt his gill slits open up as multiple, layered disk shaped pieces of cartilage fanned out over them. His ears snapped out before twisting forward and up into a vertical position, lying flat against his head in a mock imitation of horns. The air rumbled out of his lungs, flowing directly down and out of his gills with the acute vibrations as it passed bouncing along the disks increasing in velocity and rhythm as they shot back into his body running up his windpipe and finally went screaming out of his open maw in a high pitched sonic wail.

The Galra’s cries of pain were swallowed up by the piercing noise. Many falling to their knees, hands clapped over their ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound. They laid writhing about like fish out of water. A soft, silent, dark chuckle tickle the back of his mind at the comparison. But it wasn’t enough. Not, yet.

The volume of the sound rose higher in pitch till the unearthly wailing had morphed into a droning ring that could be seen and felt more than heard. Some of the Galra froze on the ground, faces contorted into permanent looks of agony, as blood lazily pooled in the canal of their ears before trickling down to the deck below. Eyes growing dull as the light of life was extinguished, rocked gently to the beyond by the ocean’s ministrations on the ship. It was the only mercy he was willing to give their race, a simple death.

Even he wasn’t immune to his own cry, though. He was starting to get light headed while waves of dizziness made his vision swim. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t notice the officer on the upper level of the deck, gun thrown over his shoulder and aimed directly for him. Why he didn’t hear it fire, till the projectile splintered open, too close for him to dodge.  
The net’s center practically molded to his spine as it wrapped around most of his upper body. Then all he could feel besides the twisted metal links digging into his skin was the shock that made his muscles spasm out of control. His wail morphed into a choked offed cry as he floundered across the deck, the crackle of electricity replacing every thought he had to pain. He didn’t know how long it lasted before he felt the bodies of multiple Galra throw themselves on top of him to try and still his movements. He fought back, willing his body to react in any way just as long as he kept moving, and the pain escalated higher as another stronger shock pulsed through the net.

Though he didn’t have to worry about the pain for long. He felt something connect with the side of his head with enough force he thought it would split open, then he felt nothing. He could only gaze with half-lidded eyes at the deck as a part of his brain screamed at him to stay awake, but he was helpless to fight against the inky blackness that crawled over his vision. 

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

With an exasperated sigh, Thace leaned back in the chair he’d spent the last two vagra in staring at the multiple security monitors that displayed various portions of the ship, both inside and out. Things had been hard on all the crew members since they’d picked up their newest cargo almost a phoebe ago. With nearly two thirds of the crew either dead, comatose, bed ridden, or taking care of the injured, everyone that hadn’t suffered from the sonic attack were given triple shifts to pick up the slack.

It would be fine if he just closed his eyes for a tick, there wasn’t any more inspections due till after the hurricane blew past them. He had plenty of time. Or at least he did till the faint sounds of footsteps approaching reached his ears. Snapping back up into a proper sitting position he waited patiently for the person to reach his station. A moment later Kodica shuffled into the security room and slumped into the open seat beside him, rubbing gingerly at the bandages that covered most of the young Galra’s head.

“Your late, cub.” Thace softly chastised his subordinated as he flicked through a few of the portside deck cameras, the sheets of heavy rain turning the feed into a grey static till the odd thunderbolt struck throwing an ominous halo into the mix.

“Thaaace, come on give me a break!” Kodica whined voice just as soft, if not softer, “I missed the rotation by two doboshes. I can’t get a decent rest since anytime someone marches past the bunks it sounds like the whole army is running past.”

“And your point is?” Thace asked turning to look him in the eye.

“My point is you were lucky to be below deck when that siren started screaming its lungs out.” Kodica snapped, wincing at the volume of his own voice, “The ringing in my ears finally went away the other quintant during lunch.”

“What? I thought you’d been cleared of any lasting affects during the last movement.” Thace’s lips arched down into a disapproving frown. While he was glad to have the extra help, it didn’t mean anything if they weren’t up to full strength.

“Yeah, well, I lied. A little ringing in the ears is nothing compared to what some of the others got. I was one of the lucky ones.” Kodica muttered, slumping further into the chair the longer Thace stared down at him. “Besides, you know how Prorok is. If you can walk straight you can work. Plus, it freed up a bed for Trixla.” He reasoned, the last statement came out as a nearly muted whisper though in the acute silence Thace still heard it.

“Ah.” Thace turned back to the monitor in front of him, letting the cub keep a little dignity, “That is true. Prorok is not one to go easy on us, injury or no. At least we’re not sailing through the storm.”

“Right, because the loss of a flagship would make it harder to plead for forgiveness after he lost the first Baku the druids were able to get their claws into.” Kodica scoffed, pulling himself up and flicking through his own set of cameras, “I still can’t believe what that siren did to it. I mean I’ve heard the stories; ships being lured into reefs by their songs, groups of them tearing out the hulls of cargo ships, but I would never have guessed one would willingly attack a sea dragon.”

Thace hummed in agreement, though only partially. Sirens were naturally aggressive to just about anything that tread water, though they did have a soft spot for their more peaceful mermaid cousins. He’d seen a pod of their kind hunt down a whale in just under a vagra, so it’s not a major shock to believe that they might go after a young Baku.  
However, that’s not what had been bothering him about this one in particular.

Besides the glaring fact that it attacked the Baku on _its own_ with no pod to help it, there was another obvious fact that he’s pretty sure only himself, Prorok, and maybe a few other lieutenants noticed.

It was, simply put, too big to be a siren. Way too big.

If they were to put a siren next to it, the Mer’s tail alone would be longer than the siren. Not to mention the Mer they caught had a tail that was more like an eel’s rather than a fish’s or shark’s.

Speaking of the devil, with a few clicks the monitor switched to what used to be the Baku’s holding pen, but had now become an impromptu cell for the Mer.

It was a pitiful sight, seeing how it had been strung up like a prize. They had taken the hooks which had been carrying the Baku’s next meal and had stabbed them deep into the Mer’s tail. There were six hooks in total; three had been inserted into the end of its tail just behind its tail fin in random positions around its girth, two more were protruding from the sides roughly a little more than halfway down so that they were also hooked into the thick pelvic fins there, the last hook was in the Mer’s underbelly maybe a foot away from where scales and skin melded into each other. After all the hooks were in place, they winched the tail up so that it was stretched to its limit, the tail fin hanging limp at the top like a flag without any wind to blow it. The rest cascaded down in a mosaic of blue hues before finally ending with the Mer’s waist raised a few feet in the air while its chest rested on the ground.

Its arms were pulled backwards over its head, bound together at the wrists by metal cuffs that were connected to a chain that hooked into the molding vest, a vest made with a unique metal alloy that conformed to the wearer’s body, that covered most of its torso. This particular model was specially designed for restraining Mers as there were sharp spines of metal that pressed into the skin over the gills limiting their ability to open without causing damage to the fragile organs. The muzzle that they used was almost as diabolical as the vest since rather than keeping the wearer’s jaw closed within a cage, mouth props were inserted into the wearer’s maw. They were pushed to the back, behind the molars, while metal bands came out alongside each cheek winding up to where it was welded to another piece that wrapped around the head while simultaneously covering the wearer’s nose. A collar fashioned in a similar manner to the vest, was fastened around the Mer’s neck gills and attached to the back of the muzzle forcing the Mer to breathe only through its mouth.

It was cruel in Thace’s opinion, but at the same time he begrudgingly admitted his superior knew how to take ‘precautions’.

He had been about to switch cameras when the ship shuddered with a noticeable dip to the right, no doubt hit by a strong wave from the storm. Thace braced himself against the controls, Kodica was less fortunate as he let out a small yelp when he slipped from his chair, when the monitors flickered with movement. He narrowed his eyes as he sat up and checked the monitor pulling his seat closer to the desk.

He froze as the last bit of the Mer’s tail fin slipped over the newly present glossy sheen on the room’s floor and into the water of the Baku’s holding tank, tugging along the broken chain links still attached to the hooks. 

Shaking himself out of the shock, Thace’s hands flew across the controls as he cycled through the various cameras searching for the one that looked into the tank itself. The monitor flashed as images raced across one after the other till the subtle aqua glow from the embedded flood lights within the tank filled the room. Thace adjusted the camera’s angle looking for any signs of the Mer before settling on the noticeable change to the bay doors located on the far side. Right where the two thick plates converged lay a gaping hole of twisted metal.

“How in the hell did it do that?” 

Thace physically jumped from the proximity of Kodica’s voice, smacking the cub upside the jaw. He whirled around as Kodica hissed in pain.

“Don’t do that again.” Thace growled, punctuating his threat with a pointed finger.

“All I did was ask a question, Thace!” Kodica grumbled, one hand rubbing his sore jaw, “You told me to ask you any questions when I first started this job.”

“Let me rephrase that: Don’t do that again or I will throw you across the room.” Thace amended staring hard into the other’s eyes. Kodica scoffed as he held his gaze for a moment before looking back at the monitor.

“That’s two feet of titanium alloy. Not even the Baka broke through that and it was almost three times as big as that siren.”

“Size means nothing if the creature in question has the will to escape.” Thace replied as he flipped back to the previous camera and rewound the security footage, “After all, the Baku never tried to escape because we conditioned it to never attempt to. The Baku could have easily broken through those doors if it had the mind.”

“Well that’s a lovely thought.” Kodica muttered, sarcasm heavy in his tone. Thace hummed in agreement before pausing the security footage in its effort to jump back in time and let it play, watching the Mer’s prone form intently. After a couple seconds, the water in the tank shifted splashing out slightly. The Mer shifted with the ship’s tilt, limp as ever, before its body snapped in on itself like a rubber band. It spun and twisted in the air pulling the chains tightly against its body as its tail bunched up into a bundle of coils. Then with a rabid lunge the chains snapped and it fell to floor, a white mist spewing out of its mouth and covering the wet floor with what he could now see was ice. After flailing for a second or two the Mer found purchase slithering along the path it had created for itself, the spines of its pelvic fins working like the many oars on a ship to drag it across in record time.

Thace paused the video feed again and switched to the second camera, catching the moment it submerged itself. With quick movements it spun to face the door, rearing back with a flick of its tail and then rocketing forward in a spiraling charge. Since the camera was on the opposite side and facing away from the doors in question, Thace wasn’t able to see how it managed to break through the alloy.

“He only needed to hit it once? Damn, that- Wait.” Kodica cut himself off, a grimace passing over his features as he got a faraway look in his eyes, “No, actually I can believe that. I knew it did a flipping backflip on the deck.” Thace didn’t respond as he rewound the footage again, playing it once more and paying close attention to the way the Mer broke its chains.

“Do you want to tell Prorok or should I?” Kodica asked, a frown etched on his face at the thought of telling their already temperamental captain about more bad news.

“It’s your rotation now Kodica, but wait till you cycle through the cameras again before you tell him.” Thace replied as he stood up, pushing his chair in, “We can’t do anything about it in this weather, so a little wait won’t kill anybody. Who knows maybe by then he’ll have calmed down some.”

“Calmed down? What happened this time?”

“I have no idea.” Thace shrugged as he paused in the doorway, throwing a pitying glance over his shoulder, “But Prorok spent half a vagra yelling at the engineering team. In person.”

The door shut behind him with a soft hiss cutting off any complaint the young Galran might have had. It was quiet in the hallway, his steady footsteps echoing off the barren walls the only sound reminding him once again just how short staffed they were. Though at this moment he was glad for that bit of extra luck, it made his job that much easier. Slipping into one of the less used passages, Thace pulled out the handheld communicator he kept on him at all times. With a swiftness that comes with years of practice he locked onto the Blade’s background signal, sending in the early report to Kolivan detailing the Mer’s escape as well as the location of the ship. With it sent he slipped back into the hallway he’d come from and started heading for the galley. Though, as he walked a few concerning thoughts nudged persistently at the back of his mind.

If the Mer had the strength to escape now, after being starved and neglected in such a way, why hadn’t it done so sooner?


	2. Invasive Species

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! sorry about the amount of time it took to get this chapter up, but I promise that it'll be worth it. We've got a lot of characters introduced in this one so enjoy! PS. There is some slight body dysphoria, or something in that general area of having a negative view of your body.

Keith was floating in the hazy realm between blissful quiet and consciousness when he felt a sharp jab to his left side followed by the sudden feeling of weightlessness. His stomach imploded into nonexistence as gravity sucked him down a never ending, ever widening expanse of infinity where space and time crossed in an intricate web of possibilities, yet he continued to slip through the holes between each strand of the net that made the universe spin on its cosmic axis into the realm beyond eternity!!!

Then he landed on the cab floor, jolting awake.

Pain flared through the base of his tail causing it to thrash in what little space it had hidden in the leg of his pants. Then running up his spine where his ‘wings’ jerked against the already tight binder in protest, before ending with an explosion at the back of his head from bouncing off the window sill. With wide eyes and a freshly aching body, Keith took a second to first praise the stars he wasn’t actually falling through the abyss, then he glared at the source of his sudden and rather rude awakening from where he’d landed.

“Pidge.” The name rolled off his tongue like venom as his gaze bored into his childhood friend. She was wearing her usual ensemble of a green tee, cargo shorts, and sneakers, while her hair was a rat’s nest. Sitting on her side of the small booth economy class transportation provided with her legs crossed and laptop resting on them, she met his gaze with raised brows. The perfect guise of innocence and neutrality. Save for the distinct upward twitch at the corner of her lips.

“Keith.” She parroted back, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

“What was that?” He asked as he lifted himself up off the floor and onto his feet, smoothing out the wrinkles in his pants. Thankfully, they didn’t tear from his tail’s movements.

“You fell off the seat.” She shrugged as her eyes flicked back to the laptop, fingers tapping at the keys at a fervent pace making Keith’s ears twitch. Grabbing his jacket from where it had fallen with him, he gave it a quick shake to knock off any dirt then sat back down next to her.

“I know. I just woke up on the floor, but what I want to know is why.” he hissed as he tucked his ears carefully back under the longer strands of his hair that fell back over his neck. He glanced around at the other passengers, but save for a few curious glances it didn’t look like anyone recognized their shape. Or the byzantine-to-fuchsia pattern of skin and fur that decorated the tips of them.

“You said,” Pidge stopped her typing to make air quotes and deepen her voice, “‘Wake me up when we get close to our stop’.”

“So you thought that meant kicking me out of my seat?”

“Well, you’re awake aren’t you?” He frowned at her response and when he didn’t immediately reply, she glanced at him before grinning, “Not my fault you didn’t specify how you wanted to be woken up.”

“Why are you like this.” He grumbled not expecting an answer but she did anyway.

“Because I’m a Holt and that’s how we display dominance in our household.”

“Of course, just like how you climb up the nearest person like a squirrel when your sca-”

“Hey, look,” Pidge interrupted him, shoving his face to the window with one hand and pointing with the other, “There’s Balmera City! We can finally get off this infernal machine!”

“Really Pidge?” Keith asked as he pushed away her hands.

“Yes. Now hurry up.” She hopped out of her seat, shutting her laptop and slipping it into the messenger bag at her waist, “We’re supposed to meet Hunk at two and we still need to find a place to stay.”

“Right.” Keith sighed, glancing at the approaching buildings as his thoughts went to the reason they were half way across the continent.

The Blade hadn’t had a strong presence in the northern regions past the Dalterion Belt since the mountain range acted as a natural barrier against the Galra Empire’s influence and there was a far greater need for their work in the South. However, in the last seven phoebes the few agents the Blade had in the North started sending in reports about a sudden increase in the number of Galran soldiers coming in from the Frozen Sea and scouring the Diabozal Bayou under the leadership of Commander Prorok. Which would be bad enough considering that Prorok was one of the more notorious commander’s in the Empire for his cruelty to those who had the misfortune of working under him and the shoot first ask questions later policy he had for those who stood against him, Galra or otherwise. But that’s not even taking into account that the North is technically under the watch of Prince Lotor.

Shrugging on the faded red jacket and grabbing his duffel bag from the overhead compartment, Keith followed Pidge to the front of their car. The train had just pulled to a stop when she jumped out the doors and made a bee line for the nearest attendant on duty. Keith casually made his way to where she was grilling the employee about where they needed to go to get the rest of their luggage.

“You know Pidge,” Keith quipped when she finally let the poor woman go, “You don’t have to look at them like they personally insulted Rover.”

“Do you want a repeat of what happened at Naxzella?” She asked over her shoulder, looking at the corner of the luggage tickets clasped in her hand.

“Naxzella was a once in a life time mixture of coincidence and bad luck.” He sighed as they pushed through a throng of people heading for the train they’d just left.

“Keith. We spent _six hours_ looking for your knife, two of which,” She paused to pointedly stare him in the eye, “Were spent in security after you tackled a guy out of the third floor window.” 

“Well if security did their job _correctly_ , I wouldn’t have been hanging from the third floor with a perfect excuse to get rid of a lying scumbag.”

“Of course, you would take a near death experience and make it seem like you planned the whole thing from the start.” She grumbled with a shake of her head.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Now help me find the pick-up area.”

“You mean that place over there with the big giant sign that says Luggage Pick-up?” He asked, leaning down to her eye level and pointing her gaze towards the place with a finger.

“You’re on thin ice Kogane.” She grumbled, crossing her arms. “Thin. Ice.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say gremlin.” Keith scoffed before playfully shoving her.

They both grabbed the small travel suitcases with their respective clothes before nabbing the other two that contain Pidge’s equipment. Outside the station was a clustered mess of carts all on a single road that lead directly into the city. The carts themselves where of a simple design that look like a bench had been strapped to an axel with wheels that looked ridiculously big, a small luggage compartment on the back and two horizontal poles on the front that a Balmerian driver used to pull it. The Balmerians themselves were a site to behold: they were taller than your typical saurian, with bodies built from a wall of solid muscle. Their tails were considerably shorter than their southern cousins, often only reaching just below the calf, and they didn’t have the same bizarre frill of harden spines on their heads but rather two short, thick mounds of cartilage that grew on either side right behind their ear. Silver piercings or golden hoops hung snugly from each one. Their faces were also more human like than reptilian though their eyes were a single color and void of any visible pupils.

They’d only been standing there for a moment before a female Balmerian in a green and gold accented dress, next to a smaller cart raised a hand and called out to them from where she sat at the edge of the road.

“Pidge! It’s so good to see you again!” the Balmerian said once they’d gotten close enough and picked her up, suitcases and all, in a massive hug that left Pidge’s feet swinging in the air. “When Hunk said you were coming to visit I couldn’t contain my excitement!” 

“Hey, Shay. It’s good to see you too.” Pidge wheezed, patting ‘Shay’ with one of the suitcases in return, “But could you put me down please?”

“Oh yes! Sorry about that, it’s just been so long. Here let me take those.” Shay laughed as she set her down gently before taking her suitcases from her and moved to put them in the back of the cart. 

“It hasn’t been that long. Only about nine phoebes.” Pidge said with a so-so gesture.

“Nine phoebes go by quickly here Pidge. Might as well have been nine deca-phoebes.” Shay scoffed as she set the suitcases on the rack before turning to look at Keith, “Now bring those bags over her so we can properly introduce ourselves. I’m Shay.”

“Keith. I’m a childhood friend of Pidge.” Keith said as he walked over and handed her the suitcases in his hands along with his duffle bag.

“She had a childhood? Pidge?” Shay gasped with faux surprise, eyes wide and a hand over where he assumed was her heart before her face became serious, “Your pulling my leg.”

“Ha! You wish, Keith can’t make a joke to save his life.” Pidge scoffed as she pulled herself up into the cart.

“I can make jokes.” Keith pouted while a frown tugged at his lips.

“Knife and dick jokes don’t count. Rover was doing that before he was even a day old.”

“While I don’t know Keith well enough yet,” Shay interrupted before Keith could snap a reply, drawing both of their attentions, “I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, traffic is going to be horrendous and I found a place for you guys to stay but we have to get there before they give it to somebody else. So we’ll have to continue this conversation on the road.”

“What? Shay you didn’t-” Pidge started to protest only to be cut off by a hand from Shay.

“Nope, already did it. No take backs.” Shay gestured for Keith to get in the cart before heading to the front and lifted both driving poles like she was picking up a bag of marshmallows, “Now let’s get going!”

The city of Balmera wasn’t really a city, but more of a single large outdoor market that ran parallel to the Altea River. Most of the buildings on the side of the road away from the river were fashioned from a mixture of brick rows and wooden beams connected to mounds of earth covered in sporadic growths of crystals. Every one of them was some form of a restaurant, café, or stall where their owners hocked their wares. Unsurprisingly, an extensive number of them were filled to the brim with fishing supplies or fresh fish, though there was sizable amount of imported trinkets as well. Though every now and then, the dull grey metal of a Galran structure rose above the two story sky line, alongside the yellow-orange of an Olkarian communications tower, a static reminder that the Empire’s reach extended even here.

Keith vaguely remembered from Regris’ lessons with the other Blade recruits that the reason Balmera City looked so small in person was because much of their actual dwellings were underground, protected by a living wall of crystal, roughly a meter thick, that kept most of the river from breaking into the caverns and turning them into a damp grave. Save for the occasional periods the river floods its banks from the excess water the geysers at Lion’s Den on top of Castle Mountain, the Altea River’s heart and source, spewed to the northeast.

On the riverside, it was one massive board walk broken into sections at random intervals by earthen spires, roughly nine feet tall, that according to Shay were one-part tourist attraction and one-part historical marker as they stood at the points where the city’s limits had been in the past. Each spire had its own unique crystal formations that represented what took place during its construction. From drought, flooding, plagues, and earthquakes, each one told a piece of the city’s and its people’s story from the moment the first Balmerian founded it to the present. But if you weren’t a history nut, they were simply beautiful to look at. Docks made from wooden planks without any hint of a railing, stretched out over the water farther than Keith could reasonably guess, given that anywhere from three to six boats sat on either side, ranging from canoes to motorized fishing boats to airboats. Yet, in the direction of the delta’s opening to the Frozen Sea, large cargo ships stood silhouetted against the western horizon.

Alongside the three docked Galran warships and the Galran Command ship sitting in the middle of the river, its oppressive shape standing out like a shark among minnows.

“Bet that’s a nice reality check every morning.” Keith stated dryly when Shay had paused to let a crew lug a few barrels across the street.

“Your telling me. Ever since the fleet moved into the delta things have been, well,” Shay replied with a noticeable dip in her happy tune, “rough is a nice way of putting it.”

“Why the hell would they need that much tech in an out of the way place like Balmera City anyways?” Pidge mused leaning on Keith’s shoulder to get a better look, “It’s like their broadcasting that somethi-”

“Let the Mer-folk catch you staring at them the wrong way and you’ll end up in a side canal with the fish.” Shay interrupted Pidge’s thought fast and low, letting go of one of the driving poles to lean back towards them in a slightly exaggerated role of her shoulder. The look she gave them out of the corner of her eye was quick, but clear: Not here.

Keith blinked in surprise at the solemn air that settle over them as she quickly turned back around, shoulders set in a hard line as they continued onward. Pidge was quick to recover and steer the conversation back to Balmera City in general, Shay responding in kind in the same chipper tune from before albeit a little strained. Glancing back at the docks, Keith caught the sight of two Galra soldiers interrogating a small fishing crew trying to unload their cargo. A frown tug at his lips at the sight but a more through look at the people milling about turned it into a full on scowl. Galra soldiers were everywhere, but spread far enough apart they blended into the crowd unless you knew what to look for. 

This was going to be a problem.

Shifting in his seat he leaned into the corner he was sitting against, shoulders hunched and arms crossed, pointedly looking at the ground as he listened to Shay and Pidge’s conversation. He scratched at the back of his neck idly, though in truth he was checking to make sure his ears were well hidden. It was no small wonder as to why it took so long for the Blades up here to get in touch with Kolivan.

The rest of the ride was short and uneventful as Shay turned them onto a side road away from the river. The crowds were thin out here, to the point of being nonexistent for being but a block away from the Altea, and she was able to pick up the pace without fear of being blindsided or running over someone else. She pulled them up to a large wooden building that sat rather well with its surrounding neighbors despite the faded evergreen paint on its sign, the wear and tear of the wood that was split in places, and the layer of ivy that crawled up the pale blue walls in a vaguely pattern that reminded him of seaweed.

“The ‘Queen Luxia’?” Pidge questioned as she hopped out of the cart behind Keith.

“Yep,” Shay replied as she gathered their luggage, giving Keith a grateful smile when he grabbed some of it from her hands, “It’s a bit of a walk from here to the café but it’s one of the best rated motels in all of Balmera City, though there aren’t a lot of people who stay here.”

“Why not?” Keith asked as he followed Shay and Pidge up the steps.

“Well, one big reason is because most people want to be directly on the main road. It is the simplest way to travel around the city compared to going through the back streets, but the main reason is because of the people who run it. Some just can’t get over bad blood.” Shay grumbled the last part mostly to herself as she shouldered the screen door open. Pidge and Keith shared a worried look before following after.

The lobby was painted in deep blues with strokes of sea-foam green and teal intermixed in long swooping swirls. On the left wall lay a modest couch with a vibrantly colored coral reef painting hanging above it; a small coffee table sat in front with two bowls designed in the shape of sand dollars, a few magazines resting in between. On either end of the table were two matching chairs, their leather frayed at the edges and faded from age. The wall in front was covered by a fishing net intricately woven with shells, starfish, and coral, with a doorway on the far right leading off into a hallway. To the right was a reception desk with two women standing behind it.

The one on the left was slouched against the polished wood, she wore a violet tank top with a white and black spotted seal pelt tied loosely around her shoulders, the seal’s head resting atop her own like a hood covering most of her face save for the pout of her lips as she tossed a stress ball into the air. The other was in a blue tee with writing that read in bold letters ‘I ain’t fishing for cats,’ on the front. It exposed and accented the darker blue scales that faintly dusted her arms, neck, and face. Long light blue hair bunched into matching pig tails framed either side of her face, the ends resting on the desk since she was bent over and idly flipping through a magazine.

The two Mers looked up as the three made their way over to the desk, and the one with pig tails straightened up with a bright smile, revealing pointed teeth similar to a shark’s:  
“Shay! Good to see you, I take it these are the friends you needed rooms for?”

“Yep.” Shay nodded as she set their luggage down in front of the desk, “I hope it’s not too much trouble, though. Considering everything that’s been happening with the river and your families.”

“Nah, its fine. In fact, our families are happier knowing we’re here with the other air-breathers.” She said waving away Shay’s concern with a chuckle before she turned to face Pidge and Keith, “Nice to meet you two, my names Plaxum though everybody just calls me Plax.”

“Pidge. Nice to meet you too.” Pidge said with a small wave.

“Keith.”

“Sweet. Well, as much as I’d love to get to know you guys right now, that can wait till after we get you guys to your room.” Plax turned around to the corkboard behind them where room keys hung off individual hooks. Keith raised an eyebrow at the other half of her tee which read ‘But Bi-golly I can make you yowl.’

“Nice shirt.” Pidge commented with a snort as Plax handed two keys to her, each with a little foam fab that had a silver Roman numeral V painted on it.

“Thanks, it was special gift from my mate. But it was funnier seeing her reaction when she realized there was a back.” Plax said with a fond smile that quickly turned devious, before she nudged the Mer beside her, “Hey, Swirn mind waking up Blumfump?”

“Sure.” Swirn hummed, pushing herself off the desk and walking to the far side. Keith noticed then that there was a large pinkish clay pot just a bit shorter than the desk sitting next to it. Swirn knocked on the lid three times, quickly pulling her hand back as the lid popped up revealing a disheveled head of dark green hair that was so matted and unkempt it resembled a mop of dried seaweed. A pair of googles sat on the side facing them, wide black pits staring out from behind the glass till they blinked revealing a flash of pale skin.

“Who? What? What time is it?” Blumfump, Keith was assuming even though he was pretty sure nothing could fit into such a pot, glanced around at Swirn and Plax before his gaze fell on Keith and the others, “Oh! Shay has brought us some customers. How wonderful! We might actually make some progress in this infernal business.”

“The motel was your idea Blum.” Plax pointed out as she marked her spot in the magazine and set it aside.

“Guys, not again.” Swirn started with an exasperated sigh.

“Which means I can complain about it as much as I want too, freeloader!” Blumfump retorted, his neck stretching in an exaggerated manner from the pot’s rim, it made Keith’s own ache just watching it, and the lid on his head slipped precariously to one side.

“Freeloader?! If it wasn’t for me and Swirn you wouldn’t have any business!” Plax scoffed hands going to her hips in indignation.

“You bit the last customer we had!” Blumfump shot back, leaning back when a tentacle slipped over the pot’s rim pointing accusingly at her.

“He was being a creep and trying to come onto Swirn! He even tried to steal her pelt!” Plax said throwing her arms up into the air.

“Yeah,” Swirn interrupted stepping in between the two, “And for that, Blum broke his cart’s axel as they turned onto the main road and caused a huge scene. We’re all lucky the Galra couldn’t pin it on us.”

“Well of course!” Blumfump exclaimed with an almost offended look on his ‘face’, or as much of a look that a pair of googles on a ball of seaweed could make, as more tentacles flowed out of the pot and pushed out a set of broad shoulders with two sets of arms attached to them, followed by a wide torso that ended in a mass of tentacles. “This is my home. Any who would dare harm my friends in it deserve nothing less than the wrath of the Sea Mother herself!”

“Yes, yes. Now take our guest’s stuff to their room.” Swirn said with a placating hand on Blumfump’s shoulder, gesturing to their luggage.

“Oh yes, please allow me.” Blumfump said, his whole demeanor going one-eighty as he moved around the desk in a dragging, slithering motion before picking up their suitcases easily with his various limps.

“I can carry these ones.” Keith tried to protest, though it wasn’t that convincing as he was still trying to process that fact this new Mer came out of a pot roughly a third of its actual size, but Blumfump’s tentacles simply plucked the bags from his hands before he’d even finished talking.

“Nonsense!” he shook his head at Keith, “Here at the Queen Luxia we pride ourselves on our unmatched customer service! Now let me show you to your room.” 

“I’ll wait for you guys, so take your time.” Shay said as they began to follow the jovial Mer down the hallway.

“Shay you don’t need to stay. I sure you’ve got better things to do than chauffer us around the city all day.” Pidge argued with a frown, “And don’t say ‘too bad, I’m going to anyway.’”

“Okay, I won’t.” Shay shrugged, “But I already took the whole day off from the café so I’ve got plenty of time to waste chatting with Plax and Swirn while you coincidently go get situated in your new room.”

Pidge glared at the Balmerian’s crocodile grin for a moment before she went after Blumfump grumbling under breath about how some people are just too impossible to argue with. Keith followed her with a mental note to find out what kind of dirt Shay had on the gremlin to make her cave in so easily.

Their room was at the end of the hallway, the door was lime green and had a matching V just under the peep hole. The interior of the room was rather plain, only a few small paintings of exotic fish hung off the walls, otherwise it looked like your typical hotel room. The bathroom was immediately to your right after walking through the door, two beds with a nightstand between them sat on one side and a decent sized dresser with an older model hallo-screen on the opposite, and a desk and chair where pushed into the far corner.

“We change out all the linens every two movements, regardless of whether or not you’re using them, though if you ever need fresh linens for any reason there is a supply closet at the other end of the hall.” Blumfump said as he set their things onto the beds, “If you have any problems connecting to the Okalrian hub-links or if a pipe busts in the bathroom, just knock on room number four’s door and Coran will be more than happy to help. He’s our resident maintenance man and though he’s a bit eccentric, even by Mer standards, he’s a very nice man. If you have any other problems or questions just swing by the front desk, I’m usually in my pot but in the rare moments I’m not Plax or Swirn will be at there.”

“Awesome.” Pidge said with a satisfied nod before pointing to the bed closest to the window. “Dibs on that one.”

“It’s all yours.” Keith replied, before turning to the Mer, “Thanks again for the room.”

“No thanks are needed. Shay and her family have been very kind to us and if she considers you a friend then you’re a-okay in our book.” Blumfump hesitated as he seemed to decide on whether to say more, to which Keith raised an eyebrow in question.

“No matter their origins.” Blumfump said with a leveled look at Keith. Pidge froze were she had been making her way to her bed and Keith felt himself tense as he held Blumfump’s gaze. Seeing their reaction, he hurriedly went on to explain, hands raised in a placating gesture, “My apologies. I’m sure you have your reasons for hiding your, heritage, and I’m not trying to threaten you or anything. I just wanted to assure you that while we have no love for the Empire’s current presence in the city, we aren’t so petty as to hold their actions against every Galra that walks the streets.”

“That’s, good to know.” Keith said slowly, as he loosely crossed his arms in what he hoped was an indifferent manner.

“Indeed.” Blumfump’s googles moved in an odd way, and coupled with the fidgitive curling of his tentacles, Keith realized he was giving him a nervous smile, “And do what is best for yourself, but I would advise not hiding your status as a Galra here.”

“Why not?” Pidge asked as she sat down in the desk chair.

Blumfump sighed, one of his hands pushing the lid on his head back to a safer position, “As I’m sure you know, Prince Lotor is far more accepting of half-bred Galra than his father, so a fair number of them work under him here in the North. Since many of them either live here in Balmera city or their families do, they weren’t too receptive of Prorok’s sudden declaration of martial law throughout the city nor his soldier’s treatment of the younger Galra who are stationed here. The bayou is dangerous enough without people needing to fear discrimination in the only city west of the Belt.”

“Okay, so? We know very well how most Galra treat those who aren’t pureblooded.” Pidge interrupted with a wave of her hand, “What’s this got to do with Keith?”

“Right. A few quintaints after Prorok’s declaration, a large group of the local militia along with their families started to protest against his actions. When he refused to revoke it, the whole city rallied behind them and went on strike which caught the attention of two of Lotor’s generals and they forced Prorok out of the city along with a good portion of his soldiers. Of course, it’s led us to our current predicament of having a warship poised to bombard the city if we don’t let the Galra conduct their investigation, but they don’t go causing trouble with the half-breeds or their families anymore.” Blumfump shrugged, then as an afterthought, “At least not in the city.”

Pidge and Keith shared an uneasy look at that, but it didn’t last long as Pidge cleared her throat, “Thanks for the heads up Blumfump.” 

“Of course.” The Mer nodded as he made his way out, calling out over his shoulder, “Enjoy your stay here at the Queen Luxia.”

The door clicked shut behind him, dumping them into a heavy silence. After a moment, Pidge got up with a grunt and started to ‘unpack’, which consisted of grabbing her bags and dumping them onto the desk in the corner. Keith grabbed his own suitcase and set it in the corner between the headboard of his bed and the wall before he set his duffle bag on the bed.

“Well?” Pidge asked as she strolled up to him and tossed one of the room keys next to his bag.

 

“Do you think it’s worth it?” Keith mused as he pulled out the bundle of cloth his Mamorian blade was swathed in.

“I see it coming back to bite us no matter which you choose considering that Blumfump, and probably Plax and Swirn too, knew without you telling them. So,” Pidge shrugged, “No point in keeping a secret that isn’t really a secret.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Keith sighed as he pulled the layers of cloth away from the Blade’s hilt.

“Hey,” Pidge nudged him hard in the side, “It’s not like you need to walk around half naked, plus your always complaining about getting craps in your tail from keeping it in such an awkward position. So it’s a win-win.”

“Pidge, I’m agreeing with you.”

“Yeah, cause I’m always right.” Pidge said with a raised eyebrow before she spun on her heel and headed for the door with an impatient huff, “Now are you ready yet? Cause I’m hungry as hell, and I’m willing to freeze the place over for Hunk’s cooking.”

“In a sec, thanks to your wake-up call I need to reset my binder. I can already feel them starting to ache.” Keith set his blade in one of the side pouches on his belt as he slipped into the bathroom, “And Pidge?”

“Hm?” She was halfway out the door, one hand on the side to pull it shut behind her.

“Thanks.”

She stared at him for a moment from behind her glasses, before her eyes softened and a small, but genuine smile spread over her lips, “Your welcome.”

After she left, Keith shut and locked the bathroom door before he stood in front of the counter and the large mirror. He disrobed, setting his jacket and shirt to the side and exposing the nearly skin tight molding vest. Taking his right hand, he placed two fingers at the vest’s collar and when the fabric began to glow a faint purple under his fingertips he drew them down the front of it, while the binder began to unzip from the same spot along his back. Once the vest was completely unzipped, he let it fall off his shoulders and into the crooks of his elbows as he let his ‘wings’ stretch out.

The appendages on his back weren’t really wings though they had a similar shape and structure to avian wings, if you plucked them of all their feathers. Or rather chicken wings, since they were too small and disproportioned to function properly. While the humerus and radius bones were about the same length with the radius being just a few inches longer, the phalanges bone was nearly twice as long. When he pulled them as in as close to his body as he could he could feel them stretching from the tips of his shoulder blades down to the spot just above his waist. They also curved to the slope of his spine so they fit perfectly against him rather than bowing outwards slightly like most avian wings. Even if you ignored all that, there was one other problem with them: he couldn’t move them like normal wings either. He could stretch them out completely directly behind him, but could only keep them like that till they were at about a forty-five-degree angle from his back before they wanted to snap back into a folded up position. They were honestly more like fins than wings, especially once you realized that there were covered in these three-inch-long semi-hard scales that started out as a bright fiery crimson before fading into a deep ebony.

Well, they did, before he got the scars.

Keith twisted slowly, his shoulders sagging as he traced the crisscrossing lines with his eyes. He’d lost count of the years of how many he’d gotten, they all started to blur together after the third or fourth foster home. A little after that he wound up in the care of the Blade once Thace found him on the side of a road two quintaints after his last runaway attempt.

Back then he’d hated the appendages enough that he used bandages and tape to keep his them hidden as much as possible. It was hard enough being a half-breed with a tail and ears, two very sensitive and easy to grab parts of his body that were prime for bullying, he didn’t need to broadcast the obvious abnormality growing off his back. Cause guess what, most Galra did not grow wings even if one of their parents was an Avian.

Only a few members of the Blade knew he had them besides Kolavin and Thace. Regris was one since he made the vest for Keith once they realized he’d been binding them too tightly and passed out in a training exercise. Ulaz did as well, being the Blade’s head doctor and all. Antok just knew somehow when he first met Keith and it wasn’t till much later he found out it was because he held himself in the same way as a friend of Antok’s. Though Keith had only talked to her a handful of times and strictly through Antok since she was deep in an undercover mission, it had helped knowing he wasn’t a complete oddity. He still got bullied in the Blade for being a half-breed, though marginally less so than when he’d been in the foster system, but things worked themselves out over time and once he started making a few friends rather than just punching.

Closing his eyes, Keith took a few deep breaths as old names and slurs surfaced from his memories and his tail curl tighter around his leg. Letting out a heavy sigh, he pulled his wings back in and pulled the vest back over his shoulders, zipping it up as carefully as he’d unzipped it so the material had time to adjust and mold itself back to his body. After throwing on his shirt and jacket, he took a careful look at his reflection and how much he looked like a normal human. If you didn’t notice the slightly bigger pant leg, or the way his ears seemed to curve into his head at the tips, or how his fingernails were sharper and were more like claws, or the fact his canines were longer than most, then yeah he’d a decent job.

And yet, Blumfump knew without him saying anything.

Though he’s just probably seen enough half-bred Galra that he picked on the smaller details. The ones Keith just got finished pointing out were so well hidden.

Which aren’t that easy to see unless you know what to look for and Keith was a pretty unique case.

So he should be just fine.

………..

“Fuck it.”

Another five doboshes and a couple curses later, Keith stepped into the lobby with his tail in all its glory swishing behind. The skin of his tail was also covered in the same semi-hard scales as his ‘wings’ but they were only an inch-long and were a deep, lush sangria. The tip of his tail split into two six inch spines that used to have a thin membrane stretching between them, but now only small bits of it remained along the base and it was mostly scar tissue now.

Shay was the first to notice him. She’d been listening to Blumfump and Pidge argue about the logistics of something and how Mer-science, whatever that was, could solve it. Her gaze drifted down to his tail for a brief moment out of curiosity, if the subtle raise of her eyebrows was anything to go by, before a smile spread across her face. “Ready to head out?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” He nodded.

“About time.” Pidge exclaimed as she pushed herself off the counter, “I want Hunk’s cooking and I want it now.”

“Take care now.” Plax said with a wave.

“And drive safely! Don’t want to lose our customers so soon!” Blumfump called after them as they walked through the front door.

“Will do.” Shay called back with a wave, “See you all later!”

******************************************************************************************************************************************************

Near the base of Castle Mountain, clawed feet pattered across the rocky banks of the Altea. The footsteps belonged to a direwolf, its fur a deep prussian blue accented by stripes of lighter blue and grey that was reminiscent of a starry night sky, as well as a small nekomata, whose fur was a mixture of a dull scarlet and a bright marigold along with a tuft of a sooty mane growing from the back of its neck like a smoking ember. The pair’s movements were wary as their eyes scanned the surrounding land with unease. What was once lush greenery was now maimed and captured in a layer of frost. The Altea’s water ran like veins under a layer of icy skin so thick the neko doubted any normal fire could ever melt it.

Normally, such a sight would not bother the two. Winters in the Daibozal bayou were harsh as winds from the Frozen Sea would bring heavy storm clouds that would block much of the sun’s heat, dropping the already cold temperatures further. However, winter had only begun for the bayou a few movements ago and the hail storms had not, nor would, start for another two, yet it looked as if the bayou was already into the third or fourth phoebe of winter.

They both knew what was the cause, even if they had not seen it for themselves for all around them the land spoke of it. The winds carried its stench of disease, the trees splintered against its touch, the birds had fled the for they were the only ones who could, while the beasts of the bayou silenced their cries, some of their own accord and others because they crossed its path. But it was the river itself that babbled the most; a jumbled and muted song meant for waters that were not touch by the air but for ones that dreamed in the endless night. The ones that lay smothered down in the deep, down in the dark, down in the cold. 

The ones who had lost it, the ones who yearned for it, the ones who had forgotten it.

Until this one remembered the way.

With a startled jump, the direwolf halted as the two were turning down a bend in the river. The neko paused and moved closer to its companion as it too saw the carnage in front of them. Ahead on the ice, a pair of robeast corpses resembling large crocodilians stood in their path. One of them lay in a soggy pile of broken skin and bones, its eyes bulging from its head as some of its own innards hung from its jaw like a mangled tongue. The other was on its back, its chest cavity torn open with bits and pieces of flesh scattered around in the dried pool of blood. A few brave carrion birds pecked at the scraps, but quickly took off to a safe distance as the pair approached the bizarre kill.  
The robeast’s inside was a mess of mushed organs and viscera, but oddly enough not much of the kill had been consumed rather most of what had been eaten seemed to be from the birds or other scavengers. The two shared a long look as they pondered why it would go through the trouble of tearing through the robeast’s tough hide but leave so much behind. And if it had the ability to cut through their hide, why did it not do so to the other rather than crushing it to death? Why kill so much but eat so little?

The neko glanced to the other robeast with a troubling thought. Quickly crossing to it, he inspected the robeast’s mouth and realized the innards were not its own but rather they were scraps of a meal still caught between its teeth. So it had killed its own kind only to be killed by another, and yet neither had been eaten by this new predator. Just like all its other kills. Off to the side, the direwolf let out a small yip of excitement that had the feline rushing towards him. The canine had found a fresh scent along the bank that lead downriver and the two quickly took off after it.

They followed the scent well into the day, till it ended at the opening to a large creek that branched off from the Altea. A large patch of the ice had been smashed leaving a gaping hole where small chunks of ice were pushed to one side by the rushing water. The direwolf sniffed around the edges of the break and confirmed that the predator had slipped into the water of its own accord and that it didn’t happen to just fall in. The neko’s tails swished in agitation at having lost it, again, but he was more concerned as to why it broke through the ice rather than travel the few yards to the edge it and slip into the creek there.

With an impatient huff, his companion started down the creek glancing back with an inquisitive look when the feline didn’t start following. They shared a long silent conversation and with an understanding tilt of his head, the direwolf continued on alone. The neko waited till he was out of site before began to retrace their steps to the robeast’s carcasses. They couldn’t just let the trail go cold again but they couldn’t ignore the growing spots of ice either. At least this way one of them would get one problem fixed.


End file.
